Wildfire Relief Help Needed

As you are well aware wildfires have devastated Western Oklahoma. Oklahoma Conservation Commission Executive Director Trey Lam and USDA-NRCS State Conservationist Gary O’Neill toured Dewey County yesterday with Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts President Jimmy Emmons, a farmer and rancher from Leedey, to get a firsthand look at the devastation.

When disaster strikes, the best way to support survivors of emergencies or disasters in Oklahoma is with cash donations to reputable voluntary organizations or disaster funds. Cash donations allow relief organizations or survivors to purchase what they need, when and where they need it. Buying supplies locally helps the local community recover by helping local businesses pay salaries and by keeping tax revenues in the community.

Cash donations may be sent to the following relief funds:

• Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation – Make checks payable to Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation with “Fire Relief” in the memo line and mail to P.O. Box 82395, Oklahoma City, OK 73148 or donate online at www.okcattlemen.org
• Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers Foundation – Make checks payable to the Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers Foundation with “Wildfire Relief” in the memo line and mail to 2501 N. Stiles, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 or donate online at www.okfarmingandranching.org
• Oklahoma Farmers Union Foundation – Make checks payable to Farmers Union Foundation, Inc., with “Wildfire Relief” in the memo line and mail to the attention of Wildfire Relief at P.O. Box 24000, Oklahoma City, OK 73124.

Cash donations may also be sent to volunteer fire departments, local churches, and voluntary organizations responding to the fires, including the American Red Cross and Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief. 

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is organizing donations of fencing supplies, hay, supplemental livestock feed and milk replacer for calves that lost their mothers. Anyone impacted by the fires and in need of these items may call Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Wildfire Recovery hotline at (405) 590-0106, (405) 496-9329 or (405) 397-7912. Anyone who would like to donate the items listed above may also call the numbers above to offer donations. They will match up people who have items or services to donate with producers needing help to rebuild fences, transport hay and similar farm and ranch activities.

Coleta Bratten at the Dewey County Conservation District office is coordinating hay and other supplies to be dropped off at the Leedey rodeo grounds and the Dewey County Fairgrounds. We have cooperators and friends with loses in Harmon, Greer, Caddo, Woodward and Roger Mills counties as well. If there are other Districts who need help please let us know. You can contact the local District office along with the OSU County Extension office.

Other donated items are not needed or requested at this time. Do not send unsolicited donations of used clothing, miscellaneous items or perishable foods, which must be sorted, warehoused, transported and distributed. This requires more efforts and staffing to manage those resources and takes away from recovery efforts.